Austrian Airlines Flight Diverts to Bulgaria Due to Bomb Threat

An Austrian Airlines flight from Israel to Austria was diverted to Bulgaria on Sunday night following a reported bomb threat. The Airbus A320, en route from Tel Aviv to Vienna, landed in Sofia, where all 51 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated.

The Bulgarian transport ministry confirmed the diversion and stated that the country's air force scrambled a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the airliner. An investigation into the threat has been initiated.

The flight, Austrian Airlines 82, departed from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and diverted over Romania to land in Sofia approximately three hours into its journey. Flight tracking data confirmed the diversion.

This incident follows a previous event last month where a pilot attempted to hijack a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv. In that case, the crew and passengers subdued the hijacker before the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

Last week, Croatia and Germany also scrambled fighter jets after a commercial flight from Corfu to Nuremberg accidentally transmitted a hijacking alert.

Austrian Airlines, owned by Lufthansa, has confirmed that a threat was made but did not provide further details. Security services conducted a search of the aircraft after its landing in Sofia.